Federal law requires that federal installations manage historic properties, including archaeological sites. The Guidelines for Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended (36 CFR § 800) require federal agencies to ensure that properties eligible for the National Register are not “. . . inadvertently . . . demolished, substantially altered, or allowed to deteriorate significantly.” The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 requires consultation prior to intentional excavations and subsequent to inadvertent discoveries of human remains. Executive Order 13007 requires federal agencies to avoid adverse impacts to Native American sacred sites. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979 imposes criminal and civil penalties for un-permitted excavation or damage to archaeological sites. Compliance with each of these laws and a proactive approach to resource management creates the need for systematic monitoring of archaeological sites. Further, complex investigations are mandated from related legislation, such as Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), as well as from various state, local, and tribal requirements. Compliance with these laws often requires one to inventory, manage, and conserve both natural and cultural resources.
One example of an installation requiring systematic management of archaeological sites, both known and unknown, is the Fort Irwin (California) installation managed by the U.S. Army. Archaeological sites are scattered across the Fort Irwin landscape and are not recognizable by non-specialists. Cultural resource (CR) managers at Fort Irwin have documented more than a thousand archaeological sites. These sites must be protected until their National Register eligibility is determined. Eligible sites must be preserved (managed) as the installation performs its military training mission. As a result of the Army's mission, the sites may be vulnerable to damage from a number of sources, including vehicle traffic, erosion, excavation, and infrastructure development. Additionally, some of these sites may be susceptible to vandalism and looting.
Monitoring the condition of such a large number of archaeological sites is difficult. Further, ongoing inventories continuously increase the number of archaeological sites. Changes in military training alter the risk of adverse impacts to sites. The competing needs of environmental sustainability and efficient land use often require implementation of complex, integrated programs to reconcile the two. Without a systematic program, it is likely that monitoring will focus on a few high-profile sites, such as those known to include relatively dense surface scatters of artifacts. Such sites are, of course, very important, but it is also necessary to monitor the condition of more typical sites.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system to prioritize, schedule, manage inventory, and maintain accurate and consistent records. Conventional methods for doing this are expensive and inefficient, in large part due to the manual handling involved. An embodiment of the present invention provides a solution to the problem posed by labor intensive maintenance, evaluation, and updating of information about archaeological site condition. The Automated Tool for Monitoring Archaeological Sites (ATMAS™) is an automated tool designed to help CR managers monitor sites in a responsible, effective manner by integrating information to facilitate prioritizing, scheduling, and managing a CR program at an installation.